Euro-survey

[vergilius]

resumé

So to make a resumé;
Prices are too high for contenders, visitors and traders. Also because of the Pound rate.
The show is getting a bit unpersonal and less special.
Main danger is that next year nobody will pay the entrance fee and go in but talk to each other on the terrace with the nice and free view.
Solution : prices must go down especially for the traders so that it will become interesting again to attend. If they do drop the prices, I hope they won't forget to tell us. It might persuade some people to change their mind and still go to Euro next year.

 

[brian]

Hi All
From all you guys that have given your invaluable input ,it looks like that cost is the main issue,which is what i feared most,as getting the powers to be to take reducing prices seriously, would in my mind be a non-starter,but never the less i will submit this to them and see what kind of response i get.

Here's my opinion for what it's worth!
As i live in Scotland which is about 450 miles and 7 hours travelling to get to the event,i reckon i'm worse of than most people travelling from overseas,but,and it's a big but,Euro is the only major event in the U.K. and i can see where you guys from Europe have the advantage of having many top rated shows to attend ,throughout the year.
Euro was always the holy grail of shows in the past to all nationalities,but it's obvious, it's starting to sag a bit ,due to the above reason ,cost,but in my opinion not the only reason.Here's a few,some which have been mentioned by other contributers to this thread.
The kid in the toyshop syndrom i.e.wondering what's new as you enter the doors for the first time-the internet killed that off.
The can't wait to see what the master painters have put into the competition -the inernet killed that off (although there's no substitute for seeing figures in the flesh)

The judging system being inconsistent,and some of the judges being past their sell by date?

They'll be many people saving like mad to go to Barcelona for the Expo,so the money is not such a big issue when it comes down to it ,as saving for Euro is no different.People will always save for a special event ,so maybe Euro is not so special anymore?

The underlying theme of the orginisers making a profit, at all costs?

I dare say there's other things i could add,but when it all comes down to it,this is OUR hobby and the show belongs to YOU and ME and at the end of the day it will be US that could kill it off if nothing changes it for the better and make it ,once again,a show that can't be missed.
I'm going to have my say to the powers that run Euro,so should you.Maybe ,just maybe,they'll listen.
Brian

 

[vergilius]

Wish you a lot of succes Brian. You have my support

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi Brian

Can I just add a little something to the melting pot here, No matter how small the element it is. After so many years A SINGLE FIGURE HAS FINALLY GOT BEST OF SHOW AT EURO. I hope this has an effect on the figure painters who have been put off by the overwelming amount of armour that has taken this coverted title.........

Dave

 

[Chevalier de Malte]

Money will be a problem for everyone. For me to go to anyshow as I live on an island I have to take a plane, that includes cost of trip + lots of taxes which sums up to almost 350 Euros to UK but on another hand I do not smoke and neither drink so I manage to save up for the trip when I intend to do it. OK we are all grumbling that UK is getting expensive but have you checked to go to WE in Girona, with the hotel rates and cost for trip is hell of a budget for me besides I have to stay 4/5 nights as trips are not everyday to Malta and alas was planning to take the family along ... could say the excuse is that it hapopens every 3 years!
I think its a problem allover EU and here we are not consider if a european soal is trying to cross the pond to USA!!!!

Euro used to be the launching of new products but seems the internet and ecommerce killed that. I was surprised that this year Pegaso started the habit by launching those masterpieces ... maybe it's a turn of a page and history is repeating itself and start the old way allover again!

Not to open a can of worms but on another note Euro seems not to attract lots of collectors anymore maybe that is another issue that detair certain modellers not to attend ... very different then major US shows, WE and St Vincent.

Ivan

 

[gorgosaurus]

You´re obviously a man who loves his hobby and is concerned for that show, Brian.
I wish you luck!
Organisers putting prices down - never heard of that one before.

Valid points, too, about the i´net effect on trade, seenig stuff and don´t forget "chatting" to mates aswell.
Though nothing beats the real thing,

Spike.

 

[Chevalier de Malte]

hOOO ... hold your horses see what is coming up on Figurinitaly Forum, a nice topic emerges about the BOS ... it's more crumbling from here, hope you understand italian ...

http://www.figurinitaly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364

... so what is next now!?

Ivan

 

[megroot]

hOOO ... hold your horses see what is coming up on Figurinitaly Forum, a nice topic emerges about the BOS ... it's more crumbling from here, hope you understand italian ...

Ivan

Ivan, the most of us don't understand Italian. But i'm very curious what they have to say.
Maybe you can give some resume.

Marc

 

[Chevalier de Malte]

These guys are grumbling that the idea is original but not fit for BOS [nothing new ... they forgot the judging in WE Rome LOL ] blaming everything on the judges as usual.

This is not a new topic after every Euro, last year was Phil vignette with PZIV ... the arguement is if originality gives more impact to judges then typical historical subjects ... would be interesting to share our views!

Personaly I see no objection to this subject for a BOS ... apart from the work involved its simplicity gives a story in itself ... very artistic and very difficult to acheieve ... persoanly I admire the story behind more then the intricate painted flower motif ... though in contest I see that everything in balance ... good sculpting, brilliant paintwork and a story behind the scene. Bravo Roy ... its a lesson in originality IMO!

Ivan

 

[vergilius]

Well he did deserve his price, no doubt about it but I know some judges and normally someone else would have won. The 'supreme' judge (what's his title?) overruled the other judges and pointed Roy as the winner.
Strange judging!

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys
Speaking as someone who has never been to Euro, but has been involved in organising model comps for many years, I know that keeping costs under control is always a difficult balancing act. Insurance premiums in particular have spiralled in recent years, and they have a direct impact on door prices and vendor fees.

Traders and other paying vendors want to see big crowds at shows to justify their own costs and get nervous when they see the crowd numbers falling each year.

The only things organisers can do is;

1. Increase the entry prices, or
2. Spend more on marketing to increase numbers; or
3 Both.

Either way, its a hard call for the organisors to make, and they will get criticised no matter what they do.

Attending EuroMilitaire from Australia would cost me at least $5,000, even before I set foot inside the room, so its a once-in-a-lifetime event for me. To be honest, I'd rather spend that money on new figures and I'll just look at the pics on the planet!!!
Regards
Tony

 

[Cicero]

Hi all,

Interesting discussion and one that needs to be done. After falling rather late I have a few other things that annoyed me:

1) The unrespectful way to show the entries to the public; bare and cheap looking contest tables, unlit - on the contrary even with unfavourable backlight which doesn't allow to take a good look or pic of the art works on display. Imagine a museum showing a painting of any big painter in the same way ... we all would yell "sacriledge!"

2) The fact that everybody is kicked out of the showhall for the judging at a certain hour, right into the middle of the day when you expect all entries to be there. If you can allow to be there just one day there is ample chance you miss what should be the highlight of the show, looking at and examining figures, taking pictures of the pieces you like.

3) And for me also the high prices are putting me off. For the same amount of money spent at Euro you can almost double your goods on any other show on the mainland of Europe. TBH I felt ripped off this year.

But to end with a positive note: the only fact why I like Euro is that it gives me the chance to see my British friends in the flesh, be it only for a couple of hours. My advice to the organisers: stop thinking in Pounds Sterling and try again to understand what's driving modelers from around the world to make a big, or very displacement, to attend a modeling show ...

My two pennies

Johan

 

[brian]

Gday Tony
$5000 is a fair amount of bucks but i thought all you Aussies were super rich.
I'm only joking .From a Pom who's daughter was born in Wagga Wagga.
Brian

 

[tonydawe]

Greetings Brian,

I wish we were super rich, but the simple fact is EM and virtually every other international modelling show in the Northern Hemisphere is a very long way from Oz, and when I think about how many new release figures you can buy for $5,000, you can understand why so few Aussies attend these shows.

If you think Wagga Wagga is isolated, Perth is like living on the moon. We are 5 hours by plane from the nearest capital city and a 4 day drive to Melbourne or Sydney to attend the local annual modelling shows.
(We are closer to the Indonesian capital Jakarta than we are to our own capital Canberra).

Even a trip to the other side of Australia is likely to cost me a thousand bucks before I set foot inside the competition room, so these trips are unfortunately fairly rare.

Under the circumstances, I'm not sure some of our European friends appreciate just how lucky they are to be able to attend EM at all. I know the rising costs are hard to accept, but what alternative is there?

As other Planeteers have pointed out, if EM becomes too expensive they will simply not attend. That's the bottom line.

Regards

Tony
PS: I'm a huge fan of your modelling Brian. It's a real buzz to be in contact with you. I've been admiring your work in books and magazines for many years, and I'm glad to be sharing the planet with you.

 

[brian]

Hi Tony
I started painting figures (very badly) when i was in OZ in the 1970's as i served 9 years in the RAAF and i know exactly what you mean as i felt totally isolated with my hobby.I didn't know of anybody in OZ that shared my hobby at that time.It's a bit better now as at least you can now see the top gun painters figures on the web.
I returned to Scotland in 1980 and eventually joined a local club.
I sympathise with you ,as although you can see figures on the net or in the magazines there's no substitute for seeing them in the flesh.
Thank you for your kind comments
Keep in touch,especially if i can be of any help.
Brian (supersnad)

 

[tonydawe]

Thanks Brian
I'll send you a private message shortly.

Regards
Tony

 

[vergilius]

I 've got a solution tony; there 're several house to let or to be bought here in Belgium. You have to give up your spacious freedom because everything is build over (more houses and roads than trees) but you're in the centre of it all.
You're always welcome

 

[billyturnip]

I 've got a solution tony; there 're several house to let or to be bought here in Belgium. You have to give up your spacious freedom because everything is build over (more houses and roads than trees) but you're in the centre of it all.
You're always welcome

And the beers better
Roger

 

[vergilius]

That's true
so why don't you ALL come to Belgium and we turn this country into a real Planet Figure?

 

[gforceman]

I think that not only the high prices of entry at Euro are a factor, but also the price of the figure itself. The last two years price of figures has gone up a lot. This has not happend in the afv world. Let's compare. I'll take for example a 75mm figure (which seems to be very popular at the moment) from Pegaso (one of the leading manufactors if not THE leader) which cost here in Europe about 32 euro. If you paint slow (like me) it takes about 6-8 weeks to finnish. Now for the armour. Still popular is the 1/35 th scale and I hear many good things about Dragon. An average Dragon 1/35th kit costs here in Belgium about 35 euro (including an aluminium barrel, some PE and link by link tracks). I remeber from when I was doing AFV's it took me about 6 months to finnish an AFV. Clearly many people will have stopped figurepainting or switched to another branch of our hobby. If you have limited funds then a trip to Euro might mean buying two to three figures less. To my opinion, it's not just Euro, but the whole figure painting is getting too expensive, too elite and a thing that in the end will become a hobby for the rich only. Imagine being 13-14 years old and you would like to start figure painting? At these rates!!!

Still loving the hobby and Euro though.

Greetz,

Gino